| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: in sight of the two men, but it was at a great distance; however,
they had the satisfaction to see them cross over a valley towards
the sea, quite the contrary way from that which led to their
retreat, which they were afraid of; and being satisfied with that,
they went back to the tree where they left their prisoner, who, as
they supposed, was delivered by his comrades, for he was gone, and
the two pieces of rope-yarn with which they had bound him lay just
at the foot of the tree.
They were now in as great concern as before, not knowing what
course to take, or how near the enemy might be, or in what number;
so they resolved to go away to the place where their wives were, to
Robinson Crusoe |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Fisherman's Luck by Henry van Dyke: the brackish waters of the bay. They turn the wheels of sleepy
gristmills, while the miller sits with his hands in his pockets
underneath the willow-trees. They fill reservoirs out of which
great steam-engines pump the water to quench the thirst of Brooklyn.
Even the smaller streams tarry long enough in their seaward
sauntering to irrigate a few cranberry-bogs and so provide that
savoury sauce which makes the Long Island turkey a fitter subject
for Thanksgiving.
But this brook of which I speak did none of these useful things. It
was absolutely out of business.
There was not a mill, nor a reservoir, nor a cranberry-bog, on all
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